Different equipment suppliers currently offer validation systems for their component placement equipment. These systems are designed to validate that the right component part number is used at the right feeder location for a given product to be produced. These validations systems are not fully closed loop and require some level of intervention by the operator, which can be a source of potential errors. Also, these systems are typically machine dedicated and cannot be used on machines from other equipment suppliers. Furthermore, these systems validate only the feeders for components in tape and reel and cannot deal with components in other containers, neither with other raw materials and tooling.
In PCT Publication No. WO 01/82009 published on Nov. 1, 2001 in the name of Cogiscan Inc., a line validation system disclosed, which provides the ability to validate that the right components are used at the correct location on a placement machine, but also provides a way to validate that the proper tooling, chemicals and programs are used on every machine on the assembly line. This system operates in an open loop configuration. PCT Publication No. WO 01/82009 corresponds to U.S. Patent Application Publication No. U.S. 2003/0102367-A1 that was published on Jun. 5, 2003 in the names of Monette et al. and that is herein incorporated by reference.